Eugene's Thundestone
by K0nk3yDong
Summary: Following the events at Seattle Tower certain events lead to Eugene finally growing a pair. The series of events in Eugene's life, past present and future cause the boy to undergo a metamorphosis. This is the story of Eugene's evolution. M for content and language.
1. Chapter 1

Eugene hovered in a defensive stance over the opening of the tower. Not a single Core Relay was left in Seattle. At least not that he could find out on the street. Now he had to sit and watch as Delsin used what little skill he'd acquired in a little over a week to take on Augustine's Concrete Behemoth. Eugene could not, for the life of him, understand why the tyrant chose to go that route as the ultimate manifestation of her powers. Surrounding herself in a protective shell of her Source? Yeah. That made sense. But where did the damn 20 foot rock lizard thing come from? Augustine never struck him as the Kaiju movie type. More a Human Centipede type in his honest opinion with her love of sedatives and ethically questionable experimentation on strangers.

As this internal monologue was taking place, he was directing the defense of the tower instinctively with his genius tactical thinking and leadership skills, traits that Eugene would of course deny possessing. Angels surrounded the perimeter of "no mans land" holding back angry and protesting civilians with barrier spells serving to both detain and protect from debris. Demons fought in tight packs with the scrambling DUP forces with Fetch assisting where she could. He offered offhandedly to have an angel search for a scope of some kind but she said "Don't sweat it Teen Angel, don't need to divide your attention. Stay focused" The large angel nodded. With a flex of his wings, a dozen Bloodthirsty Blades hovered behind him in a mimic of his feathered appendages. Arms outstretched, green pixels twinkled all over the skyline marking choppers, APCs, turret nests, and DUP Kings. With a mighty flap of his wings, He Who Dwells unleashed his wrath upon the conniving and oppressive hands of Brooke Augustine. As each massive construct blade neared its target, they split into four smaller blades each. Impacts echoed across the deserted streets like the finale of a firework show.

A teeth grinding groaning sound emanated from the hole in the top of the tower as the rock monster made another pass at Delsin. The supports of the tower rattled in protest. Eugene rushed to lay a steadying hand on the tower. 'Come on Delsin. Finish this. I don't think the city can handle much more of this Smith vs Anderson stuff.' Eugene looked out from his vantage point to the angry crowds. The barrier spells were holding as expected, and the demon squads were keeping the dupes from turning their attention to his angels. Past the semitransparent blue shields Eugene looked on at the masses of people with indecipherable picket signs and random melee weapons as they cheered and chanted with defiant fists held high in support of Delsin and his followers. Delsin, Fetch, and...Him...such a bizarre thing to think after so many years of blending. A major metropolitan area, cheering for him like a superhero.

The skyscraper gave another warning rumble and a yellow energy crackled aroud the concrete tumors before they began to crumble away. 'Delsin you daft bastard you actually pulled it off!' Eugene almost had a chance to start celebrating when a female scream ripped him back into high alert. Information was processed on a second by second basis. Eugene scanned frantically, supplementing his own field of vision with the many eyes of demons and angels. 'There!' he yelled internally. a concrete shelf was plummeting toward a petite form huddled up against the side of the tower. Lunging forward, Eugene surged forward on the wind, snatching up a young woman. Simultaneously, circling demons and angels rapidly converged to slow and break up falling debris in case there were any other civilians caught in the splash zone. With the adrenaline rush over, Eugene relocated the young woman to a nearby safe rooftop. The woman slid from his hand to the rooftop in a sitting position. She blinked a few times at the wash of his wings and seemingly returned to herself. Looking up to address the large thing in the corner of her vision. With a gasp, her eyes flew wide and she cried out "The Archangel!?" Eugene smiled internally. 'That was the name they gave him? Ohhh Delsin is gonna be so jealous! Banner Man eat your heart out!' He turned to the young woman (girl really, closer to his age) with an appraising eye. Faded red shirt, baggy jeans, oversized black leather jacket, round framed glasses, green eyes, long brown hair, laptop bag with stickers and dangling char- There. Attached to the corner of her laptop satchel. A rubberized "HH" with a sword through it. He turned to address her after that awkward few seconds silence. "_I AM HE WHO DWELLS. DEFENDER OF THE WEAK. JUDGEMENT OF THE CRUEL. MY SERVANTS FROM ABOVE AND BELOW AWAIT TO ESCORT YOU TO SAFE HARBOR._" A voice that sounded eerily similar to Delsin told him to stay with her and actually talk. She looked at him and wrapped her arms around herself. "I don't feel safe anywhere...too much has happened in the last few days..." Eugene could sympathize with her. He felt the same. "_I SUPPOSE I COULD COORDINATE FROM HERE, IF YOU DESIRE MY COMPANY?_" He expected a no. That's how most girls reacted to him. The girl looked up at him, her shoulders relaxed and her arms lowered from their guarded position slightly. "I'd appreciate that. At this point, I'm more afraid of Augustine and the DUP than you and your conduit buddies...so many rights and conventions I saw as immovable constants foundational to American life...squashed out of fear..." Once again Eugene could sympathize. "_FRET NOT. THE CORRUPTION OF THIS INSTITUTION IS BEING EXPOSED AS WE SPEAK_." Eugene pointed her attention to a squadron of angels swarming around the broadcast dishes on the tower, casting their powers into the airwaves. The girl's brows knit in curiosity. "What are they doing?" He chuckled lightly, which sounded like booming laughter at his current size. If he had a face in this form, he'd wear a smug grin. "_EXPOSING AUGUSTINE'S DECEPTION TO THE WORLD. PROCLAIMING THE TRUTH TO ALL WHO WILL LISTEN. DOCUMENTS, CAMERA RECORDINGS, EMAILS, BATTLE COMMUNICATION ARCHIVES. ANYTHING I WAS ABLE TO CRACK AND STOCKPILE IS NOW BEING DUMPED TO LIVE TV, YOUTUBE, AND EVERY SOCIAL MEDIA SITE OUT THERE. EVEN MYSPACE_."

She laughed at that. 'What? I made a girl laugh with a joke? Not at me?' She kept looking at him with this unsure smile.' What was that? Is she uncomfortable? Should I leave? Am I not good at talking to gir-'

"Who are you?"

His runaway Anxiety Express (TM Eugene Sims) screeched to a hault.

"_I AM THE ARCHANGEL HE WHO DWELLS_"

"No...like who are you really? Archangels aren't exactly famous for their hacking skills and don't think I don't recognize a recolor of Samson's Mail from the Beelzebub Raid or the angel and demon summon models from Heaven's Hellfire. I know you aren't actually an angel. You're a conduit. Theres a person under all that angel stuff. A person I'd like to meet." Eugene experienced a complete system failure. what had left her mouth just did not mesh at all with his self image. His social anxiety was screaming at him to summon an angel guard and run, but as he looked up at the tower and saw Fetch hauling an unconscious hero and a concrete cocoon up onto the rooftop, that voice that sounded a lot like Delsin came back telling him to take the leap. He had saved a race of people today, and over the last week he had rescued over 200 wrongfully detained people. He'd faced off against the DUP and the Akurans. While he hated to admit it, Delsin was right. He could live in the real world. Because if anyone tried to threaten him, or innocent people, he could call upon his friends in high virtual places to come to his aid. Talking to a girl was the least difficult thing he's had to do this month. And yet...his doubts plagued him. "_ARE YOU CERTAIN YOU WISH TO KNOW ME? THAT YOU ARE NOT MERELY STRUCK BY THE NOVELTY OF MY POWER? MY IMMINENT PSEUDO-CELEBRITY STATUS? DO YOU REALLY WANT TO KNOW ME...OR DO YOU MERELY WANT THE NOTORIETY OF BEING ASSOCIATED WITH A CONDUIT_?"

Her eyes turned sad. If Eugene dared to hope, maybe even understanding. "Well I could give you something first? Maybe my name? I'm Mary. I was in the process of being detained by a scanner stop because it went off on me. The dupes were interrupted by your Ride of the Valkyries entrance. I ran and tried to find a hiding spot but once I found cover, I realized I was stuck until the battle stopped. I was terrified...then the crap fell from the sides...so I guess that's twice you've been my Guardian Angel..." She wasn't looking at him while she spoke. Almost like she seemed embarrassed by what she was saying. Delsin's voice was in his head again, louder than ever, practically screaming "JUST MAKE THE LEAP ALREADY!". "_VERY WELL_." He flapped his wings one more time to get his feet up and over the railing of the rooftop before being consumed in a flash of light. This left Eugene about 30 feet above the ground. Normally he'd panic and use his hover or sprout wings to glide to the ground but this time, with a girl intently staring at him as pixels and voxels flicker away around him, he felt the need to show off and be brave. He held his arms out for stability and kept his feet together as gravity dragged him to the floor. At the last second, a pair of blue wings sprouted from his back, flapped once, and then dissipated, dispersing the inertia enough for Eugene to only land in a slightly leaning stance. Ignoring the minor jolt to his knees, Eugene forced himself to look Mary in her green eyes and smile. "Hi...I'm Eugene..."


	2. Chapter 2

here was a long pause between them. Mary seemed to lock up. Eugene would never know it, but the look he gave her when they first locked eyes was something intense and held the dull gleam of a seasoned warrior. His flickering powers lit up his eyes to bare the true Eugene, unshackled by his anxiety and timidness, to an unprepared Mary and what she saw was something breathtaking. It took Mary several seconds longer than she'd like to admit to find her voice. "H-hi Eugene..." She kept staring at him. The more she stared the more uncomfortable Eugene became. The more uncomfortable he became, the more the fire that graced his gaze was muddled by his timidness and fear. He cleared his throat and that light was gone. Mary felt sad. It was a cold feeling. Like she found a warm campfire in freezing cold temperatures and right as the the fire began to warm her frosted bones, an icy wind snuffed the flame and nipped at her face. She wanted her campfire back.

Mary spoke first. "Soooo...what happens now? The whistle is blown, the DUP is crippled, just about everybody supports conduit freedom. Where do you go from here?" Eugene looked out over the bay. "I'll probably stick around. I don't really have anywhere to be. Besides, the dupes might be crippled for now, but it's only a matter of time before someone else takes over, maybe even the military. If we want to keep this time of freedom for conduits permanent, we need to take this fight off the battlefield and into the rotunda of congress. Conduits need to be no longer considered domestic terrorists for a genetic marker they can't control. Secondly conduits must have their abilities and needs acknowledged by the law. We are in an entirely different class than normal humans. The way we move, heal, fight, and operate is much different. Even from one conduit to another. The only reason my powers work the way they do with the summons and digital control and constructs is because that's how I structured them in my head. I can handle organizing and programing and directing over 70 independently functioning constructs at once because I structured it like an RTS game in my head. Only a handful of my angels and demons have any true intelligence. And this could be entirely different for the next Video Conduit you meet. The third and most important thing is we need to crack the Curdun Cay detention facility wide open and ensure each and every conduit receives proper help reintegrating into society. Hopefully a society where they can live lives of relative peace, if not a slightly more exciting peace. I was hoping that my mother would reconsider her stances after seeing the mud on the DUP and then she'd become our legal advocate…."

Mary looked confused. "How would your mother help us?" Eugene cringed, this could scare her off. "My mother is the congresswoman who proposed the bill that created the DUP to congress….she believed she was doing what was best to protect her son….then a year later I found my powers…" Mary snorted. "Fat lot of good that did keeping you safe." Eugene gave a pained smile. "Yeah…she believed in the cause of the DUP. She didn't expect me to have powers. But when she found out, she legitimately believed that the dupes would be good for me. I'm hoping that she'll see that she was wrong when she sees the data dump and start advocating for us. She supported the DUP but she never supported the human experimentation, and human rights violating imprisonment that made Guantanamo look tame." Eugene kept staring out at the water, watching civilian craft filter out of marinas between the island and the mainland for the first time in two weeks. In the back of his mind, he was happy that transit was coming back so quickly, it meant that some of the supplies that were running low in the city could be distributed and rationed properly until the outside world can bring proper relief efforts. Closer to the forefront he felt uncertainty towards his mother. He wanted to believe that his mother had the best of intentions, that she'd recognize the overstepping of bounds here in Seattle.

When the silence continued for more than a minute, Eugene decided he still had to handle a few responsibilities in cleaning up the city. He assumed that Fetch and Delsin were caught up in their own celebrations, as enamored with each other as they've become. Reaching into his reserves, two summoning circles appeared on the rooftop, out of the runes an angel and demon materialized. Each had markedly more intricate armor. These were Eugene's lieutenants. His heavy hitters for when he was overwhelmed or otherwise unable to accomplish things himself. The celestial creatures knelt with their wings drawn closed and their swords held tip down. He turned to address them. "Gabriel, I need you to take your best men and head to the harbors to check in with the civilian vessels and coordinate the movement of commodities across the sound. Supplies are running low and there are some things needed on the other side that only this side has and vice versa." The angel rose and gave a curt nod "_As you wish my lord, it shall be done._" Raising his sword, a light flashed out and several angels turned from their tasks to follow their captain to oversee their new mission. The demon looked up to its master with a twinkle in his eye "_How may I be of use my master?_" Eugene regarded the demon with a more stern tone, almost like a father admonishing a troublesome child. "Samael. Delsin did a great job of pushing the DUP forces out of the districts, the patrols have all but stopped, but their equipment is still here meaning if anyone decides to take up the mantle they left behind, they'd still have all the tools necessary to oppress the city. The DUP are off balance, not utterly defeated." The demon nodded "_And like a hydra the severed head shall regrow. How…unfortunate we could not completely crush them. What shall you have me do master?"_ Eugene gave and unreadable look to the lizard man. "I need you to comb through the city and dismantle absolutely everything the DUP put up across the city. Fences, cordons, watch towers, checkpoints. All of it. Save for the concrete pyramid structures, let Delsin take care of those. But anything that isn't normal Seattle. I want it gone." The demons wings spread wide and he took flight with a heavy flap, letting loose a deep cry in the Void Tongue calling a hunting party together before taking off across the city.

Mary was taken aback by how casually he wielded the power to raise up armies to his whim. As if it wouldn't be simple for him to use it to his own advantage. No, he hardly puts himself in the spotlight and operates his army to do good where he can. He just helped take down the most tyrannical woman in Seattle and instead of celebrating, he's already coordinating clean up and relief. By all means he has every right to relax and let others handle it but he saw he could help somehow and felt obligated to lend his assistance. Mary smiled. He needed to get out more. "Eugene…do you wanna…go get coffee or…food or something? I kinda…owe you for saving me." Her right hand was grasping her left elbow and she couldn't keep eye contact. Eugene took a full 50 seconds to really process what she'd just asked him. "Wha-really?! I-I mean…Uh…really?" She giggled. "Yeah, maybe theres a coffee shop near here that's still making frappe?" Eugene's eyes flickered a deep blue, glancing at things Mary couldn't see, before settling on an undefined point in front of him. "There's a place not far from here at Hing Hei market open 24 hours." She gave him a blank eyed head tilt. "Uhh dude, thats on the other side of the damn island. I don't know what you conduits consider 'far' but unless you can find a taxi in this war zone, there's no way in hell I can walk that." Delsin's voice came back again, urging him to cary her but this time his awkwardness won out. With the wave of a hand, an angel appeared next to her, wrapping surprisingly soft hands around her waist and suddenly taking off into the night sky after the retreating glow of Eugene's wings. With a squeal she was thrust high above the sparkling neon lights of the Lantern District.

Mary was initially terrified, until she saw the view. The angel silently pulled in next to Eugene. "Is _this _how you normally get around?!" Eugene gave a cool smile. "Recently, yes. It's quite a sight from up here I suppose." Mary just laughed and started singing Whole New World to Eugene while he tilted and weaved to accommodate the city skyline. They quickly reached the chinatown market and Eugene was taken aback by how many people called his name and cheered for him. Stall owners beckoned him to buy their wares with a "hero's discount." Mary took him by the hand and led him away from the crowds, after which Eugene led them to the small coffee shop on a less traveled area. Upon entering they were greeted to the smell of fresh grounds and home made ice-cream. I short elder Korean lady sat on a stool behind the register watching some bizarro Japanese game show on a living fossil of a small tube tv. She looked up and gave a genuine greeting in Korean when she saw Eugene. The little woman's eyes looked huge through her coke bottle lenses. "Ohhhhh, look here! The Angel Man? In my shop? Yes yes! This very good day! You take down that awful woman Angel man? She dead yet?" Her thick accent made her a little hard to decipher but experience with the shop keepers at Hing Hei made him always keep a translator program running in the background. Eugene cleared his throat and said, "제 이름은 유진입니다. 내 동맹은 진정한 영웅입니다. 그는 실제로 개인적으로 폭군에 직면했다. 델 신은 범죄의 무게에 맞서기 위해 그녀를 구하기로 결정했습니다. 고맙습니다. 낯선 사람이 저의 작업에 대해 저를 칭찬 한 지 오래되었습니다." The woman was surprised to hear him speak her native tongue and smiled. "You very good. Much better than lot of people come here. But still need some practice. Tell you Delsin friend I say thank you. What you and lady friend want, hmm?"

Eugene and Mary sat at a table along the large wall window to the outside. Periodically, workers and cars would quietly cruise by through the light sprinkling rain. Mary had since finished her frappe and had decided to give Eugene's drink a try. Eugene sat in front of a cast iron tetsubin with a wonderful aroma wafting from its steaming spout. Eugene was contentedly people watching while sipping from a cast iron cup, a second cup lay empty next to the teapot. "What you got there?" Mary asked. Eugene looked to her with a serene smile. "It's jasmine tea, quite delicious jasmine tea too. Mrs. Myeong has this perfected." The small elderly woman smiled, overhearing the compliment beyond the sound of her game show. Mary inhaled the wonderful scent again. "Could I try some? I've never had hot tea before." Eugene cocked an eyebrow. Mary immediately looked defensive. "What? I'm from south of the Mason-Dixon. I'm about as southern as they come and damn proud of it. The majority of my life 'tea' has always meant Lipton iced tea with a diabetic amount of sugar in it." Now that she spelled it out for him, Eugene supposed he could detect a southern accent in her voice, but it was subtle. She may be southern, but probably not a stereotypical redneck. "Ok, that's fine. It's a good thing we have some really good hot tea for you to try. Drink it like any hot drink, carefully. It's a different taste than what you're probably used to so take it slow." He placed his empty cup down next to the unused one and began alternating filling each teacup a little bit at a time. "Why are you pouring it like that?" Eugene glanced up for a second. "It helps keep the strength of the cups even. The leaves are loose in a mesh basket under the lid so they can diffuse into the hot water. I alternate the pouring so both cups are about the same strength."

Bringing the warm metal cup to her face, Mary inhaled that alluring scent one more time before taking a tentative sip. Her face lit up with the unique taste. "So…You like it?" Eugene asked with a small smirk. Mary nodded. "It's good." Eugene looked out the window for a bit before remembering the HH charm that caught his attention in the first place. "Soo…you play HH?" Mary smiled. "Yeah…I have since it came out." Eugene gave a snort. "Same. Remember that god awful gold system they had originally?" Mary laughed derisively. "Ohhh…myyyy gawd. Yes. How do you get rich? Be first to kill all the rabbits! If you didn't wake up at 3am the day before when they reset the mob spawn, MANUALLY mind you, you could just go die. Or that absolutely busted Frostchain exploit?" Eugene's eyebrows arched. "Damn, I'd nearly forgotten about that. I think thats how I capped my first character, actually."

Mary and Eugene gradually became more comfortable as they discussed their favorite game. Regaling each other with stories of glitches, triumphs, misadventures, and rare items well into early morning. It was the first time either of them felt this comfortable around a member of the opposite sex. Conversation moved away from HH to other games in their libraries and with the shift in discussion, they shifted location. Moving out to a bench near one of the oriental gates. As they talked the world awoke around them for another day. Neither really seemed to care. To them, the street may as well have been empty.


	3. Chapter 3

With a second thrust a wide blast of smoke shot from his fingers and sent the DUP agent into the tree, cracking his visor. Dashing forward, tendrils of smoke were already snaking around the man to pin him before Delsin could rematerialize. Bullets and buckshot peppered his back. Drawing material from the pavement below him, he erected a line of concrete barriers in front of the civilians. A green laser bore down on his chest. Delsin's face twisted into an angry scowl. "There are _civilians _here assholes! Don't you care about crossfire?!" Whipping his hand he shot flechettes of concrete out at multiple assailants, dazing some and outright concussing others. The one intended for the rocket launcher dickhead narrowly missed. Before Delsin could do any thing to stop him, the warhead trundled through the air toward the line of barriers. With no other options, Delsin launched himself up on his concrete thrusters and surrounded himself in concrete. Fast Healing or none, that wasn't pleasant. Blood rushed through his ears and he could hear even more gunfire. Shaking his head and looking up he saw a neon light on a truck. Reaching out, snakes of blue, purple, and green flowed into him. Still on his knees, Delsin turned and lobbed a stasis ball into the crowd of soldiers. As soon as they were suspended he loosed four quick shots and four restrained men fell to the ground. Concrete spun around him and locked his feet in place. Right. That guy was still here. Looking up on top of the toll booth, Delsin gave the concrete man an unamused look. He drew in the offending stone and fired fragments back at the sender until his shield of rock broke. Rushing forward, Delsin beat the man to his escape route and clotheslined the guy with a shard that knocked him out, stuck to his chest, and spread out and anchored him to the ground.

An APC burst from the tree line on the side of the highway and skid to a stop by his line of barricades. Looking around quickly for a Source, Delsin spotted the computer of the terrified toll worker. A video stream floated to him and as soon as he sucked it dry, Delsin rushed forward on digital wings, kicked off the bumper of a car and slammed down in the middle of the dupes, sending a huge impact rune out to knock the troops off balance. Calling on his powers again, a cloak of bending light fell over him and two angels appeared in his place who immediately took up defensive positions in front of the barricades and fired on the advancing troops. Deslin used his invisibility to maneuver around the dupes and launch a salvo of Bloodthirsty Blades at their APC. The explosion knocked out a few that were still recovering from his drop attack. Quickly absorbing the smoke from the explosion, he dashed through the wreckage of the armored vehicle and appeared beside a man in time to catch him on the jaw and loosed his chain in a wide swing behind him, catching the last man by the ankle. With a yank, the man crashed down face first with a crack and stopped moving.

Dashing up on top of his hastily erected barricade, Delsin took stock of the line of vans, cars, and trucks, loaded with supplies and volunteers for Seattle coming in from Squamish, Indianola and Salmon Bay. He trusted Fetch to be responsible with protecting her convoy from SeaTac and Renton. "Ok! The sore losers are gone! Is anyone hurt? Vehicles are all ok?" The radio lent to him from the Salmon Bay PD crackled. [All the big rigs are good to go Del. Everyone's ok back here. Over.] Grabbing the clipped mic, he pressed the button. "Good to hear DeLain. Motts, how are things in the middle?" The radio crackled again. [All clear. Over.] Delsin turned to the people directly in front of him. "Everybody good up here?" There was one box truck that needed to change a tire and a woman who got a gash across the arm from shrapnel. Delsin dashed over to the woman and pulsed his Source out and around her. The tendrils of smoke were drawn to her wound and knit it shut with hardly a scar before evaporating harmlessly. Moving through the line he reached the truck and helped the drivers change the tire by lifting the front of the truck with mild exertion. With a well placed cinder missile, the barricade fell and Delsin resumed his watch over the humanitarian convoy atop the lead semi.

With the bad men gone, Delsin had time to think. The wind whipped at his face but a layer of smoldering cinders kept him warm. Two weeks since Augustine was carted off somewhere by Seattle PD on an appropriated chopper. Two weeks since he and Fetch started preparations to let Seattle heal and mount a siege of Curdun Cay. If what Fetch and Eugene had told him was true, they need to move quickly before the DUP transitioned it's hierarchy and resumed typical operations. The attack that just happened on a civilian convoy was proof enough that the dupes were still around and still dangerous. Just because Augustine was arrested didn't mean that she'd pay for her crimes. Until bullets quit flying in his direction and innocent people stopped getting caught up in a fight over one guy, he'd keep pushing at the DUP and any other group that threatened Conduit kind until they got the freedoms and rights every other citizen had.

Four weeks since he'd met Fetch. Fetch was an…interesting case. Delsin had been with other girls before but there was something _more_ about Fetch in particular that made getting to know her unique. The time spent with him guiding her morals and molding her into a hero and protector had revealed the depths of who she really is. After a few consecutive nights of running water, decent food, and a warm bed, her twitchiness dissolved and her hard streetwise edge softened. Fetch was still _very _New Jersey: loud, standoffish, temperamental, and stubborn. She was also, thoughtful, creative, a surprisingly great cook, and had a hyper-maternal instinct that would make a cat balk. After untraining the druggie tendencies, Delsin discovered that she cared about _everyone_. He pegged her as the type that would quickly become group mom, always checking on people, always bringing snacks and drinks to outings, being the voice of reason. So far he hadn't been wrong. Although she still presented herself as if she didn't care, acting tough. At the end of the day, she acts like a child. Not kidding…like…a 5 year old. The first peaceful night they shared together, she sat on the bed in Courage the Cowardly Dog pajama pants and a faded Dragon Ball Z tee with a headband in her hair, watching Spongebob with rapt attention while Delsin got ready for bed and checked his messages. He remembered periodically looking over at her, watching her droop more and more until she finally slumped over asleep. She was a bundle of contradictions, short temper, and sharp wit.

A week and a half since he met Eugene. Man, that kid really needed to get laid. The time he spent outside of saving people, Delsin saw something there in that kid while they played video games together. Playing Rainbow 6 the kid naturally took up leadership. In a few rounds, he had a map memorized and in the middle of the first match, he could easily tell which of our teammates would fold, which would cooperate, and which to give important directives to. The stuttering and stammering was gone, and in it's place was a firm, authoritative bark that his teammates followed naturally. Fighting against the DUP, Delsin saw a few glimpses of this personality during the Akuran Deal before he became overwhelmed and again when he showed up in person as a giant angel. If Eugene could find his confidence, he'd become one hell of a man. If he managed to find a good girl…well if the leveling effect Fetch had on him was any indication, Eugene would be a force to be reckoned with.

Nine days since he'd lost his brother. He'd made a mural. He'd spoken at the funeral. He'd drank and sobbed with the Salmon Bay police force. He'd put up a memorial video on every social media platform that would accept it telling the world the story of his brother and how he would not have been able to go on to save Seattle if it wasn't for him. It wasn't Delsin's face that was carrying the Conduit revolution, it was the face of an average joe, an everyman Native American cop that did all he could to do right by his little brother when said little brother was thrust into a difficult and dangerous world overnight, an average man with no powers that still stood tall against an army of super soldiers that hurt his tribe and were out to hurt his family too. And who did the Concrete Bitch choose to take? When she had both physically hanging by a thread, when she claimed to defend the average person, when she smiled that damn plastic smile and said "its for the good of everyone involved" who did she take? Reggie. The man that held him together and kept him sane after their parents died and eventually kept him honest when he became a Conduit. That's who. Even Delsin would admit that Augustine played him and he was beaten, but she made the mistake of playing with her food. The world was angry with Augustine. Delsin was livid with Augustine. But no matter what he did to preserve the memory of his brother, no matter how many times he tried to do his brother's sacrifice justice, he still felt like he had failed his family. First their parents, now Reggie. What was having powers worth if you couldn't even protect your family.

Nine days since he'd become a true hero. Now that he finally stood at the top of that mountain, he could say he wished he was never forced to climb it. Sure, there were outcomes and decisions he didn't regret, but the pain of loss, the sting of sacrifice, the pressure to be a moral pillar. It's suffocating…and yet…he could never abandon this life. For once, Delsin was in the position to directly affect the world around him, more directly than his tags and art ever could. He was a one man army with the power to singlehandedly cull tyrants and their machinations. To rally a following to change people's perceptions of Conduits and so much more. On the flip side, gaining powers also gave him a new boost of creativity, taking new inspiration from the shapes and pallets of his manifested powers to develop spiraling and flowing colorful designs that enthralled him to no end. Coupled with his unique experiences learning what it takes to be a hero, he had plenty to take as reference. His sketch book was quickly filling up with drawings based on Conduits, tyranny, selflessness, and brotherhood. One such sketch he'd completed last night while mindlessly drawing as he spoke with the humanitarian aid organizers depicted a man in a police uniform with wispy wings of smoke and a glowing purple halo standing atop the space needle being beckoned into the light by an angel that looks suspiciously like one of Eugene's.

Glancing up from his reverie, he saw they were passing back through Salmon Bay, by the fish cannery on their way back to Seattle. Members of the Akomish tribe lined the streets as the convoy moved it's way through the small reservation town. With the assistance of a cane and boot brace, Betty stood in front of the longhouse waving to Delsin with a smile. After Delsin had cured the tribe of Concrete Cancer and everyone began to heal properly, without the need for mind clouding painkillers, Betty wised up to what Delsin and Reggie had actually done in Seattle. There were distraught tears. Betty was initially upset with Delsin for putting himself Into danger like that, but the more he talked and the more evidence he showed her of his journey, Betty began to smile more. When he got to the story of what actually happened to Reggie, it was Delsin's turn to shed tears. Tears that turned to anger as he told how he stormed her compound and took her down. How Fetch and Eugene helped him shear away her defenses and force her to face him one on one. How he sneered at the irony of the fear in her eyes as he encased her in concrete and told her he was going to expose her game to the whole world. Everyone was gonna know that Brooke Augustine was a failure. A failure and a sore goddamn loser.

And ohhh didn't the world know it. Eugene crafted together a whistle blower program that combined everything Delsin had on the DUP occupation of Seattle and Eugene's archive of how the DUP treats its detainees in Curdun Cay and plastered it all over the internet. This program was all encompassing, employing bots and upload schedules to hijack social media algorithms and analytics to shove this dump to number one trending on every single platform out there by the time everyone woke up for work the next day. My oh my, the people of the world were _outraged, _yet divided. Some were outraged that such egregious human rights violations were allowed to carry out on American soil crying out things like "The liberty tree must be watered" And "better Dead than Red" many believed it was time for a new revolution against this blatant overstep of government authority. while others were outraged that the DUP was handled so easily by a "ragtag band of bio-terrorists" and demanding the military take immediate action to eradicate the new threat to national security. Delsin was just happy the Conduit struggle was in the mainstream conversation. Because as long as the struggle was relevant to the average person, his voice could carry miles and even if he didn't reach the first person to hear it with his message, then the next person that guy tells might be swayed, and the next and the next, until Dr. King accuses him of stealing his schtick. One thing's for certain, Delsin definitely had a dream of a world where his children could be judged not by the elements they can control, but by the content of their character.


End file.
